HxC: Festival Season in PVD Festival season is upon us. As soon as the weekend of the 4th passes there are shows all weekend, every weekend for the rest of the month. If you have time to get out to shows between the PVD Fringe Fest and the 48 Hour Film Festival, making it out to see Dropdead and B Dolan at The Met on Jul 11 should be at the top of your to-do list. PVD locals Dropdead have been in the punk hardcore scene since the ’90s. Their beat-down, crust-punk-influenced music has kept fans wanting more for 20 years. If that style of punk isn’t what you are looking for, the guys at Firehouse 13 are having a weekend full of Oi! bands. The Oi! style of punk is mainly influenced by the 1970s UK bands, while interweaving punk and ska. Patriot and Yellow Stitches will start around 8:30pm on Jul 11, and if you’re trying to get some BBQ in before the show, Brass N Ammo are holding an outdoor chow-down at 6:30pm. If that isn’t enough, the annual Warped Tour and Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival take place the following weekends. 7/11: Firehouse 13 — Patriot, Yellow Stitches, The Usual Suspect, Iron Chin 7/11: The Met — B Dolan, Dropdead, Ask The Dead and More 7/13: DV8 — Knocked Loose, No Way Out, Degrader, Waste Of Life, Divided Life, Brittle Bones, Insidious, Suckerpunch 7/14: Xfinity Center — Warped Tour 7/25: Xfinity Center — Mayhem Festival 7/25: As220 — Rampant Decay, Deathface, Timecop Beach Party 7/28: As220 — Windhand, Pilgrim, Second Grave HxC: Coming Out of Hibernation With summer finally breaking through, bands have come out of hibernation and between now and August you can catch some of your favorites around PVD. The trending tours of old school punk bands is continuing this month, with the English street punk band GBH taking over The Met on June 17. With 30 years of punk under their belt, they’re a great start to an even better weekend. Only a couple days later, my personal favorite, Anti-Flag, will pass through on tour for their recently released album, American Spring. Check them out at Simon’s 677 on June 19. That’s only the beginning. Between As220 and Firehouse 13 there will be something going on each night. And on the first Tuesday of each month until July 2, Firehouse 13 and Brass N Ammo teamed up to have a vinyl record exchange night where you can buy and sell your records. It wouldn’t be a Tuesday at Firehouse if there weren’t free tacos, so you can expect those as well! If that doesn’t have you looking forward to the rest of this summer, then I am sure Warped Tour and Providence’s Annual Foo Fest will. All the pop punk fans out there will be glad to know that our good friends Trophy Wives will be exposed to even more people on this year’s Warped Tour. You can catch them, Citizen, Hundredth, H20 and many more big names at this year’s tour, which comes to Mansfield on July 14. Although there is some time between now and As220’s Foo Fest, which takes place on Aug 8, it’s hard not to look forward to this year’s amazing line-up and headliners. As220 is known for their creative and cultural support in PVD, and this DIY-supportive venue is hosting more than 20 bands for this year’s fest. Ranging from punk to folk, the all-day event has a little something for everyone. Between Fucking Invincible, V-sect and Gymshorts, plus the main headliners, Deerhoof, and the local headliners, The Low Anthem and Death Vessel, it might be hard not to stay all day so you won’t miss any of these amazing musicians. This is just a sneak peek of all that is going on this summer in PVD. If you’re in town and looking for some punk or hardcore music, just check out these venues. With so much to look forward to, even making it out to just one event will be a treat! June 6: As220; I Eat Rocks, Bad Motherfucker, The Famines, Mis(s)invader June 7: Lupos; Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish, Ballyhoo! June 8: Firehouse 13; Disrotted, Minimum Wage Assassins, Upheaval, Ratstab, David Carradine June 14: Firehouse 13; Coliseum, Child Bite, Aneurysm, Cross-Armed Calculator June 17: The Met; GBH, Total Chaos, The Down & Outs June 19: Simons 677; Anti-Flag, The Homeless Gospel, After the Fall HxC: Powerviolence and Doom If you were one of the lucky ones to see Full of Hell and The Body last month in PVD, then you can agree that each time these guys make it to town they use every ounce of energy and passion they have. Full of Hell is a self-proclaimed grindcore powerviolence band with hardcore and punk influences. They use the special combination of hardcore, grind and noise to create their specific sound. Using guitar feedback and pedals they bend the original sound of their guitars and vocals to produce a heavier and more intense experience. Full of Hell drags you by the feet to stay on the same pulsating wavelength, giving you a full body experience of sound. Originally from PVD but now residing in Portland, The Body is a two piece sludge-doom band described by fans as a notorious group with the ability to rearrange your organs with their heaviness. Their pounding doom version of metal creeps into your ears, leaving an unforgettable sound. You can catch these chilling, sound pulverizing bands at Machines with Magnets on Sun, May 17. Opening for these two powerhouse groups are Humanbeast, Clean and Suicide Slide. May 6: Firehouse 13 — Capsize, Rarity, Great American Ghost, Rat Trap, Full Body Shot May 16: As220 — Sweet Jesus, Caught In A Crowd, Death Injection, Some Nerve May 17: Machines With Magnets — The Body, Full Of Hell, Humanbeast, Clean, Suicide Slide May 23: Dusk — Fuming Mouth, Rat Trap, Deathstate, Monsignor Meth, Mass Graves May 26: Simons 677 — D.R.I, Reason To Fight, On Your Deathbed May 31: Psychic Readings — The Wrong, V-sect, Smile Bag, Wokling, Teen Death HxC: Salad Days Showcases DIY Punk As220 is holding a screening of the brand new DIY documentary Salad Days on April 10. The punk hardcore community holds Minor Threat, Fugazi, Bad Brains and many more in high regard and name them as influences in their music. Punk and DIY has always gone hand in hand, and these aforementioned bands put a stamp on what a group of people can accomplish without big record labels and managers. In the ’80s into the ’90s, punk and hardcore musicians booked their own shows, pressed their own vinyl and made statements without thought to the law or government. This documentary highlights the underground music scene in Washington DC that caused a whiplash of alternative music across the country. Over the years there have been multiple documentaries trying to get across what exactly started this epidemic of hardcore and punk, but what makes Salad Days different is that the story is told by the scene’s originators. It includes interviews with Ian MacKaye, Henry Rollins, Dave Grohl, Alec MacKaye and many more. “Thirty years later, DC’s original DIY punk spirit serves as a reminder of the hopefulness of youth, the power of community and the strength of conviction,” says Scott Crawford, creator of Salad Days. Providence’s DIY community is alive and well and can be seen at venues across the city. AS220 prides itself on being a home for all artistic expression, making it the perfect place to view this influential documentary. Don’t miss out on this screening on April 10 at 8pm at the AS220 Main Stage. April 4: As220 — Sete Star Sept, Lotus Fucker, Sadist, Clean April 10: As220 (before Salad Days viewing) — Sweet Jesus, Big Mouth April 11: Aurora Pvd — Inertia, Sunrot, 1 Local TBA April 14: Deep Desert — Full Of Hell, The Body April 17: As220 — Weak Teeth, Violent Sons, New Strange, Public Policy April 25: Firehouse 13 — The Casualties, Burning Streets, The Alley Saints, Honest John, Devils Twins HxC: March Is Roaring The locals are taking over Providence this month; venues are set up with the best local punk and hardcore bands the city has to offer. Firehouse and the guys from Brass N Ammo are pulling together a killer lineup for a nice Wed night show on March 11 with the locals in Barber Cop and fan favorites from Boston, StreetSweeper and Creeps. The following Monday, March 16, Riotous Outburst Records is bringing the Swedish band Nightmare City to Firehouse with Psycho, Slutvomit from Seattle, and local grindcore band Power Whores. Providence locals Dropdead and Fucking Invincible will tear up As220 with V-sect and Wokling on March 25. These guys can put on a show, and it will sell out. Simons is bringing Boston hardcore veterans Bane and one of New York’s favorite hardcore bands, Backtrack, together on March 26 as the kickoff to Bane’s US tour. This season is sure to be full of crazy shows each weekend. If you can’t make it out to any of this month’s shows, April is just as jam packed with pounding music and shows you do not want to miss. March 7: The Funky Jungle — Nuclear Age, Spirits, Ugly, Cross-Armed Calculator March 11: Firehouse 13 — Barge/Holy Land, StreetSweeper, Rat Trap, Barber Cop, Creeps March 16: Firehouse 13 — Psycho, Slutvomit, Nightmare City, Power Whores March 25: As220 — Dropdead, Fucking Invincible, V-Sect, Wokling March 26: Simons 677 — Bane, Backtrack, Malfunction, Reason to Fight, Lines Drawn March 28: The Funky Jungle — Night Birds, No Problem, Beartrap, Wokling March 31: The Met — New Found Glory, Turnstile, This Wild Life, Turnover HxC: Weak Teeth’s Latest Grabs You by the Neck Providence locals Weak Teeth are back with the follow-up to their 2012 EP What A Plague You Are.